Cleaned my keyboard - broke my spacebar! 3D print?

[1200XL M.U.L.E.]

I cleaned my keyboard tonight and broke my spacebar as I was removing it. The front face of it cracked off.



It happened as I was gently grabbing it and lifting upward. I was surprised at easily it broke. Just barely a grab. In retrospect I see I should have been more careful. It yellowed compared to the other keys which should have told me it may be brittle. Is it made from a different material too?

Does anyone know where I could find a replacement? My younger son has a resin 3D printer. Is there a model I could download to print? I didn't see one on Thingverse but maybe there's another place to look?

Thanks!

 

[cheesestraws]

s it made from a different material too?

Yup, the spacebar is made from a different plastic. There is a reason for this, but I've totally forgotten what it is. Which isn't entirely helpful.

 

[joshc]

The key caps were made from PBT plastic but the keyboard bezel and the spacebar were made with ABS plastic.

The bromine — a fire retardant used in older plastics – leaks out of the plastic when exposed to heat or UV light which is why the spacebar and bezel yellow badly.

Now, why they used that type of plastic and fire retardant on the bezel and spacebar and not the key caps is ... yeah, I don't know either. Sorry.

 

[jmacz]

Sorry to hear about the crack.

I stumbled upon some listings on eBay that might help you out. A couple of the listings are confusing as one says the space bar is sold out but then says it's available later in the post. But you might want to check if any of these auctions might help you score a replacement. Doesn't seem that expensive either.

Vintage Apple AEK Alps Keyboard ANSI PBT Keycaps + Stabilizers | eBay

Layout : AEK ANSI. You will receive either an AEK M0115 or AEKII M3501 keycap set and matching stabilizers. Material : Dye Sub PBT.

www.ebay.com

APPLE EXTENDED KEYBOARD II AEK-II "HIGH-DEMAND" KEYCAPS ALPS $2.50 +S/H | eBay

KEYBOARD II" FOR AEK-II. FROM "APPLE EXTENDED. identical for AEK-I and AEK-II versions of this keyboard. at double the "High Demand" price. that has "Push-on, Push-off" operation. ONE MOST POPULAR KEYCAP.

www.ebay.com

LOT-OF-TEN APPLE MAC M3501 AEK-II "LOW-DEMAND" ALPS KEYCAPS $4.00+s/h | eBay

MAC; ALL ARE OF THESE. FROM APPLE EXTENDED. KEYBOARD II FOR AEK-II. (from the remaining eleven) must also. ENTER ZERO ( bottom row) SPACE-BAR. from the "high demand" ad. The following 13 popular high-demand.

www.ebay.com

Goodluck!

 

[1200XL M.U.L.E.]

Thanks for the links!

Yeah, it looks like the "cheap" option is all sold out. There must be a lot of broken spacebars out there!

The first link is pretty pricey at $34.99. I'll keep looking.